LGBTQ conference coming to campus

LGBTQ conference coming to campus

Nini Truong

POSTED

To aid LGBTQ students’ transitions into the workforce, Out for Work — a California-based company — will be coming to campus on Oct. 9 to hold workshops and teach skills that will later help LGBTQ students in their careers.

“Out for Work functions as a complementary component to the total education of LGBTQ students,” founder Riley Folds said. “The program provides various career plans and opportunities, and is the only all-industry inclusive career program for LGBTQA students.”

The conference, which is co-sponsored by the Women’s Center and the Career Center, will start at 9 a.m. on Oct. 9 and end at 9 p.m. on Oct. 11.

Out for Work will showcase a plethora of companies and fields LGBTQ students can enter, including Fortune 500 companies, non-profit companies and government agencies.

“We work with companies like PeaceCorps, Teach For America, government agencies such as the NSA, Verizon, Texas Instruments, Toyota and many others,” Folds said.

He said the Out for Work conference includes sessions on industry-specific fields, such as STEM careers, evaluating job offers, creating a personal brand and finding fulfillment in a career. There is also a workshop aimed at transgender students’ transitions in the workplace.

“The conference has many workshops and sessions that are all-encompassing and includes plenty of career assessments,” he continued. “It’s important for LGBTQ students know whether or not to be out in a resume or an interview and how to combat discrimination on the job.”

Not only will there be workshops available for students to attend, but keynote speakers such as Kristen Beck, a former Navy SEAL, Brian Sims, a state representative from Pennsylvania, Donna Rose, a transgender rights activist and Tituss Burgess, an actor known for his role on “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” will be present.

“On Sunday, after everything has finished, the conference ends with a career fair where students can look for job opportunities and internships,” Folds said. “The career fair is open to all students.”

Mailing List

The Mercury

The Mercury publishes news, opinion and feature articles of interest and importance to the UT Dallas campus and community, with primary emphasis on news that most directly and immediately concerns students.